Wednesday, July 17, 2013

On Vacation...be back soon maybe. By Geniusofdespair

On vacation.

I am tired of connecting dots for all you guys. You have got to start
thinking for yourselves. You keep electing toxic people and frankly it
makes me want to puke. I am tired of this feeling. I will present
information but you guys have to make the change happen. I try to warn
you all, but you don't go out there and put an ounce of effort into making things right. Do you even talk to your neighbors or put out an email to friends in the district or do a facebook post? Do you do a campaign contribution? Do you call anyone at election time? What do you except read this stupid blog?

21 comments:

Anonymous
said...

Enjoy your vacation. Get away from here. It turns out - as I learned recently when I left the state- that there are communities out there where public officials care about the community's welfare and improvements and investments are based on the public good and not done for the benefit of the lobbyists and their clients. It turns out amassing political contributions and hobnobbing with business elite and sports tycoons isn't what motivates these public officials. There, public parks are public and not parceled out to private groups. The libraries aren't closed to save money to subsidize developers and stadiums. The schools are not private enterprises for millionaire charter school operators. This is not a fantasy. Though no place is perfect, it turns out many places are just operating on a normal basis. And the average person doesn't have to spend all their time fighting bad things happening so occasionally they can offer their time civically on something positive, like volunteering at their kids school or planting flowers in a public park. And, oh yeah, the local newspaper also supports the common interest and welfare and not the interest of the special interests. Come to think of it that place sounds pretty good, so why should I stay here any longer?

It is amazing Miami-Dade County and City of Miami elected officials will vote to divert over $3 BILLION, including debt service, from the taxpayers to benefit the foreign owned Marlins baseball team YET these same elected officials (County, so far...) will vote to close libraries in the Inner City. Close public libraries? In the Inner City? Is Gimenez insane?

We try to inform and educate others, but others either just don't care, or are too busy just trying to survive. There are bright spots however; like seeing the civic activism that quickly mushroomed in response to a not quite kosher waiver of plat application that went before our city commission meeting last evening - that gives me hope.

No. Gimenez is not insane. He is out of touch, arrogant and beholden to special interests, mislead by rabid Republican tea-party enthusiasts. But that doesn't mean we have to put up with that. Contact his office and let him know there is a world out there that disagrees. He represents the community and it is our tax dollars and our library system. Below is an excellent commentary in WLRN with contact info for Gimenez (office: (305) 375-5071.Remember, his salary and pension is paid from tax dollars. This library closure isn't about temporary budget shortfalls - as the Miami Herald would have you believe - it's about dismantling the system and closing these facilities permanently. Let's not let that happen.

http://wlrn.org/post/why-closing-half-miami-dades-libraries-dumb

“Who says that we get to kill all the books,” asked District 10 City Commissioner Javier Soto.Miami, apparently, does. The decision yesterday was made to theoretically close 22 libraries (10 storefronts and 12 branches) as well as lay off 251 employees. This number is presented as the worst-case scenario. While it could be less, the closings are nearly half of the libraries in Miami-Dade.It’s a common sentiment, with the Internet having overrun our daily lives, that libraries have become increasingly irrelevant. People don't mind the idea of "killing all the books," and that the debate about the fate of libraries came to the city commissioners of the county. They didn't kill all the books, but they definitely leveled a major blow. I think we often underestimate the importance of libraries. ...The budget cuts hitting libraries, fire departments and animal shelters have one thing in common: They are an assault on the foundation of a civilized society.........“I think the age of the book is waning,” said Mayor Gimenez.It’s funny how everyone becomes a speculative book futurist when we’re talking about closing libraries and because there’s money on the table. They think the Internet will make everything cheaper.You’re fooling yourself, Mr. Mayor, if you think all of the information in libraries across the city and planet is or will be available online in the near future. The overarching logic seems to be that it’s ok to dismantle libraries in the hope that all of that information one day ends up in a digital form. This seems hopeful at best. Who is going to pay for the digitizing of books? Private enterprise? We are then talking about corporations controlling information, as well as our access to it. It’s not going to get cheaper for you and I, the end user. You’ve got to pay to download a book; you don’t have to pay to check one out.These are our last public buildings and we are letting them go. Where else can you sit for free and comb through the world’s (or even the Internet’s) literary treasures. Public money now goes to fund a billionaire’s sports arena, which you have to pay to enter each time. We bought a new home for a baseball team we now hate, yet we are letting nearly half of our public libraries slip away.“It takes a lot of things to build a community,” says Victoria Galan, marketing and media relations liason for Miami-Dade public libraries, “and libraries are an important part of that.” Yes. I believe they are.When speaking of the decisions in front of him to not raise taxes to save these vital resources that the city provides its constituents, Mayor Gimenez said, “This is not a fun thing for me.” Us either Bub. Us either.

There are a lot of good people, over the decades, who left Miami after trying to participate and to promote change. The fact that goes along with being a Banana Republic is that in Banana Republic's, ordinary people stay out of the way. Maybe what defines Miami best as a Banana Republic is that ordinary people and voters don't believe there is any alternative or any use to participation. Elected officials like Lynda Bell rise up, because the insiders fund them to be interchangeable with whoever went before (in this case, Natacha Seijas).

It would help if the press kicked and screamed about this attitude, but it's a foregone conclusion that you can't change Miami in their eyes. Schools like Belen or Ransom Everglades are just feeders into the system.

Yes Miamians contribute, with corporate races for cancer or walkathons, and the rich make this their winter home. If you can afford to be here a few months of the year when it is cold up north or in Europe, Miami isn't a bad place to live. Just don't take it seriously.

Al, if that good beach is Virginia Key forget about it. That island is being parceled up and given to developers starting with the sweetheart deal for the Friends of Miami Marine Stadium/Miami Heat/Bongos Cafe. In the excitement about restoring the Marine Stadium, they gave away the island.

In a democracy, people elect and get what they deserve. The citizens who keep electing corrupt liars deserve to be fleeced. It is the ones to who did not vote for these clowns, the minority, who pull their hair out. I commiserate with your frustrations, Geniusofdespair and thanks for your great work! The fight towards good government is a marathon, so we all need to pace ourselves and not burn out.

But as Obama quoted Martin Luther King Jr. - "The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, but It Bends Toward Justice"

It will bend towards the way of the informed here in Miami some day...we just may need a scuba tank and mask to see it, while seated at an outdoor cafe on Biscayne Blvd. to view the arc!

As the first poster said, you can't imagine how bad So. Fla is until you leave. Other states, counties and cities don't have lobbyists and candidate election funds that exceed $50,000 are rare. People treat each other with respect and act with civility and they have never heard of election fraud. Everyone votes by placing your ballot in a box by the courthouse and no knows who Zimmerman and Trayvon are. I am so happy to have left after working for MDC for many years. I still read the paper and blogs from a continued sense of disbelief. It's impossible to change the mindset of voters here... residents are polarized by race, ethnic or nationality lines. Everyone speaks their own language in an attempt not to become part of the overall community. The politicians are simply thieves and corrupt. No where else do people raise over $1M for a $6,000 job or increase their net worth 3x while in office. The distrust of the system is like a cancer and has simply persuaded the public to give up. Genius you may want to think about relocation to the many communities in the USA where life is truly the American dream.

County Commissioners (and City Commissioners including Marc Sarnoff) vote to divert over $3 BILLION in tax money to the Marlins Stadium. Three years later, lead by Carlos Gimenez, County Commissioners vote to close libraries and fire fire union members.

Follow us by Email

Quotes hall of fame - worth another look:

Jonathon Dunlop of Australia about the Miami Airport:"This is the most disorganized shambles of an airport that exists on this earth.''April 01, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment on Post__________________________________On "Colony Collapse Disorder":Anonymous said...I say lets wait till the last tree is going to be cut down, the last bit of oil used, the last lowland coastal areas flooded before we make any rash decisions that might effect the economy.April 21, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment_________________________________On Bee “Colony Collapse Disorder” being blamed on cell phones:Anonymous said...Hmmm. What are bees doing with cell phones, anyhow?April 20, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment_________________________________On South Florida Water Supply:Ron Littlepage said...Unfortunately, we know who would win when it comes to allowing development to run amok and it's not the wildlife.April 20, 2007 Eye on Miami Comment Post_________________________________Lesley Blackner said:In Florida, the sad reality is that government exists to serve the development machine, not the citizenry. That's why it's proper to say that in Florida we have government of the developer, by the developer and for the developer.April 22, 2007 Eye on Miami Post_________________________________On City of Miami and Miami Dade County giving $1,000,000 each to Jorge Perez’s Related Group (The Group's 2005 revenues were $3.25 billion.):"It makes as much sense as me donating half my paycheck to Warren Buffett.”May 6, 2007 Miami Herald Columnist Ana Menendez_________________________________On the FCAT Test:"'Florida is a serial mis-user of test scores.''Bob Schaeffer, director for Massachusetts-based FairTest.May 25, 2007 Miami Herald_________________________________Clifford Schulman (Greenberg Traurig Lobbyist):"This is the first time in 33 years that any one has accused me of fraud." June 28, 2007 Miami HeraldI say: hmm.__________________________________Max Rameau, Homeless Activist:"I respect Ron Book for his work with the Homeless Trust, but the Liberty City community and others have given broad support to this idea. I don't know that a big-time millionaire lobbyist can tell us what is best for Liberty City and the black community.'' July 28, 2007 Miami Herald__________________________________"After years of mismanagement under a board of political appointees and neighborhood activists, Miami-Dade County administrators have proposed a new way to run the troubled empowerment zone program. The plan: Bring in new political appointees and neighborhood activists."November 6, 2007 Miami Herald: Reporter Scott Hiaasen______________________________________"Saying "Greater Everglades" and "Northern Everglades" is not saying Everglades -- other places are deserving of being protected too, but there is only one Everglades. The main thing is to keep the 'Main Thing' the main thing -- which, lately, has not been the main thing." Bob Mooney - on Listserve "Everglades Commons"________________________________________"Does anyone in their right mind believe that Florida could conduct postal balloting without a major screw-up or scandal? Heavens, no! The whole country is keenly aware that our state is a sump hole of incompetence and corruption."Carl Hiaasen - March 16, 2008 Miami Herald_______________________________________On the Charter Review: "Commissioners want us to vote on their own pet changes, ideas the review team explicitly rejected. And, they're throwing their blatantly self-serving ballot questions at us at the same time. What a slap in the face to the charter review team — and to all of us!" Michael Lewis of Miami Today - April 10, 2008______________________________________On the Miami Dade County Commission:''Unfortunately, this is a commission that would build a cyanide factory next to a playground if you hired the right 12 lobbyists,'' Miami Lakes Councilman Michael Pizzi - May 14, 2008______________________________________"The days where we’re just building sprawl forever, those days are over. I think that Republicans, Democrats, everybody recognizes that that’s not a smart way to build communities." President Barack Obama in Fort Meyers - February 10, 2009______________________________________"So."Dick Cheney's response when told that two thirds of Americans did not support the war in Iraq. - Time Magazine 2008______________________________________"It seems like a bad idea can always find a home in the Florida Legislature." - Howard Simon - Executive Director of Florida ACLU - March 24, 2010

______________________________________Complete this sentence: South Florida really needs a..."Regional plan for controlled growth (before it becomes a concrete jungle similar to Houston), and a completely new set of elected officials that make decisions based on what's good for the future of South Florida instead of what's good for their wallets. - Jack McCabe, Real Estate expert who predicted the housing boom's end. - August 29, 2011 Miami Herald